Measuring of Customer Satisfaction

When we talk of measuring consumer satisfaction, there are two issues which need to be addressed 

(a) How does one measure customer satisfaction?

(b) How does one use the information received after measuring customer satisfaction? 

It is possible to measure consumer satisfaction by going for customization. Customization refers to receiving the product or service in a personalized form or tailored to the individual's need and requirement. This can help consumers to experience a positive value during interactions with the organisation. A brand's success can no longer be evaluated on the basis of its market share but has to be measured by the share of the customers. Organisations which fail to do market research and try to understand the consumer's choices or wants and what is the value for money that buyers are looking out for, will ultimately have to be satisfied with the second best. With the constantly changing consumer choices, the organisation must understand the real customer satisfaction indicator - value. Value can be said to be what the buyer is willing to pay for the product or service. The concept of value though universal, its delivery has to be unique. In today's competitive scenario, with plenty of modern and economical alternatives available, the marketer should provide value and add to customer satisfaction. They can do this by offering superior value products at lesser price than their competitors or by providing benefits that more than offset a higher price.

Moves to Measure Customer Satisfaction

Organisations can adopt various ways to measure customer satisfaction, these measures can broadly be put as

• Develop different concepts of customer satisfaction which can be evaluated. ◆ Design effective customer satisfaction data collection and report systems, which vary in sophistication,

• Use methods for institutionalising customer satisfaction measurement into organisational control systems.

• Develop systems for responding effectively to customer dissatisfaction and customer complaints.

Market research agencies use a full range of products to measure customer satisfaction. These include customer satisfaction survey methodologies, focus groups to study customer satisfaction issues, standardised packages for monitoring customer satisfaction and computer software package to analyse and report customer satisfaction data to management.

Factors Affecting Customer Satisfaction

The rise in consumer's buying power and their awareness of the existence of the new generation of customers are forcing organizations to identify ways of enhancing customer satisfaction. They have realised that they need to be vigilant about customer's perceptions of their products and services vis-à-vis that of the competitors. They also continuously seek ways to innovate their product offerings and differentiate themselves from competitors.

There are some factors which can affect the level of customer satisfaction. These are namely: the core product or service, value adding features, price vis-à-vis perceived benefits. external and contextual factors and personal factors.

The core product or service

The core product or service indicates those product related functional attributes offered by organizations who are targeting the same or similar  group of customers and adopting same or similar strategies. These functions and attributes will satisfy the basic or core requirements of the customers. Generally at the core product level, there are not many differences among the main players.

Value adding features

In order to differentiate themselves from competitors when offering core products or services, marketers must think of value additions in the form of tangible or intangible features which could offer additional benefits. The tangible additions could be in areas such as exclusive specification, range, cost, packaging, delivery and so on. However, organisation's must remember that such tangible features are quantifiable and measurable and thus could be imitated by competitors.

On the other hand, it will be difficult to imitate intangible features. The type and quality of intangibles offered by an organisation will depend upon the three 'R' (key) factors.

• Reliability

• Responsiveness

• Reputation

The organisation needs to develop a favourable perception in respect to these three 'key' factors in the consumers' mind, which is not an easy task. For this, they will have to develop the right business processes, proper employee attitude, work on creating a customer friendly culture and lastly, establish a network between the external (suppliers/venders and customers) and internal employees. If an organization succeeds in it's intangible features offerings, it can result in benefits such as

• Reduce the customer's hidden costs

• Ensure customer satisfaction by clearly communicating about the way in which organisations transact business.

• Through two way communications bring satisfaction with their external stakeholders (suppliers).

Organisations which are able to offer distinct tangible and intangible benefits duly supported by superior product and service offerings will not only be able to meet the real and psychological needs of their customers, but also create a goodwill and strengthen the brand's equity in the minds of their customers.

Thus organisations which are able to differentiate themselves by not only understanding 'what' and 'why' of their customers want but more so on what are those value added benefits being sought by them, will be able to enhance customer satisfaction.

Price vis-a-vis perceived benefits

Customers prefer the price of the product or service being offered to be significantly lower than the perceived benefits-both functional and emotional. It is necessary that organisations understand the customer's point of view of perceived benefits, for these could vary from what the former may consider it to be. If the marketer feels that its value or benefit offerings are substantially higher than those being offered by its competitors, they may prefer to price their product offerings on the higher side than the latter. Whereas, for the customer, generally, for a given level of perceived benefits, the benefit to price ratio should be higher. Further, dissatisfaction may be caused, if the ratio is lower than what is considered logical.

External and contextual factors

Beyond the organisation's product and or service offerings, there could be certain external variables which could have a positive or negative influence on the consumer's satisfaction level on the basis of how favourable or unfavourable are the context in which the transaction between the marketer and customer takes place. Such external variables or factors could include the state of the physical infrastructure, the extent to which the logistics and transport system is reliable, the level of professionalism of the vendors (or dealers), after sales service network and performance etc. Organisations which want to achieve high customer satisfaction levels must take care while working out marketing mix policies. For instance, full time air carriers such as the Air India, Jet Airways etc. may not be able to solve all the customer complaints (or problems) related to issues concerning the late arrival the flight or say cancellation of the flight due to technical engine snags. However, looking to the context of the problem, the concerned airline can make up alternative arrangements such as accommodating the passengers (or those customers) on other flights or make arrangements to serve them with food and refreshments via coupons issued to the concerned passengers or if need be make arrangements for their stay at a hotel, at the carrier's expense. This aspect may not hold good for the frills free air carriers (like the SpiceJet), so it is likely that passengers opting for these type of airlines, when facing similar problems may experience customer dissatisfaction on a higher side.

Personal factors

A customer's emotional and psychological state of mind i.e., personal factors can also affect his level of satisfaction. For instance, the anxieties a customer experiences or how he or she feels (or thinks) can also affect his or her satisfaction level. To take care of or in order to enhance customer satisfaction, organisations can try to consider the personal factors and segment customers accordingly.

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has been able to earn the reputation as a brand trusted by its customers. This is because it has been able to build up their trust through its customised service offerings, provided by its dedicated employees.